Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Has $7.86 Million Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,786 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $7,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCK. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,536,378. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCK. Bank of America cut their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

McKesson Stock Down 0.5 %

MCK opened at $640.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $598.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $566.15. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $653.92.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. As a group, analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

McKesson Profile

McKesson Corporation provides healthcare services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International. The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs, and other healthcare-related products.